Dave Portnoy unloads on Marina Mabrey after cheap shot on Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark's second game back from injury had far more fireworks than her first. After being poked in the eye by Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey, Clark was shoved to the ground and was handed a technical foul for it.

Clark did initiate some contact with Mabrey after the eye poke but it was mundane compared to what Mabrey did moments later. Clark didn't do nearly enough to receive the same foul as the player who shoved her to the ground (who also, somehow, stayed in the game after the play).

Clark is the face of the league with droves of passionate fans who will go to bat for her at any turn. One of those fans is Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who have very publicly supported Clark back to her Iowa State days.

Anyone who knows Portnoy knows he is not going to mince words, especially when someone crosses paths with one of his favorite athletes or teams. Portnoy surely did not mince words after the play and let his feelings be known about Mabrey.

"Marina Mabrey is a jealous loser punk," Portnoy posted on X. "Asks to be traded on every single team she’s on until she’s on [the] worst team in the league and completely irrelevant unless she’s cheap [shotting] Caitlin. Go play in rec league where nobody gives a s--- about you."

Dave Portnoy goes in on Marina Mabrey after dirty Caitlin Clark shove

In case you didn't know where Portnoy stood on the play after his initial post, he followed it up with more insight. Portnoy said Mabrey should be "kicked out of the league" and openly questioned why Mabrey wasn't removed from the game and why Clark received the same foul.

Regardless of how you feel about Portnoy's straightforward delivery style, it's hard not to agree with his second point about the fallout in the game itself. Mabrey's play was absolutely ejectionable and the fact that she got the same punishment as Clark, who clearly received the brunt end of this, makes no sense.

It doesn't matter that Clark is the face of the WNBA. If she was the 10th player in the rotation and was shoved to the ground in this manner then Mabrey should have still been ejected. Mabrey didn't deserve to be ejected because it was Clark, she deserved to be ejected from this game because it was a dirty play.

Perhaps Clark's star power actually hurt her in this case. If she were a lesser-known player, perhaps the officiating crew would have been quicker to eject Mabrey. There could be a subconscious element going on with the officiating crew not ejecting Mabrey, knowing in the back of their heads that this play is going to be played everywhere in the sports world.

Does it make any sense? Not at all. But that's what we get for trying to justify a decision that makes no sense after a clear, dirty play.